Meet Canada’s ‘homeless cons’

Robson and Pellerin have attracted just 49 members so far, including for employee of Stephen Harper, Gerry Nichols, author of the book Loyal to the Core, an attack on his former boss. But Robson says having just a few dozen members in the first week doesn’t mean he should be written off, “That’s exactly what the Mulroney Tories said about the Reform Party, and where are they now.”

Then there is the technology side, Robson, or specifically Pellerin, is building the website for their group on what’s called the Ning platform, it’s a kind of technology that allows users to create their own social network, kind of like Facebook for you and your friends. It’s also the technology used by the Obama campaign to set up several grassroots campaigns around the country and mobilize millions of followers. Robson figures if it worked for Obama, the Harper Conservatives should be concerned, especially given that Stephen Harper, as an early Reform member, saw what could be done at the grassroots in the days before the Internet.